A love Charles love never expected to find
by samanddianefan10
Summary: Charles, in the middle of a heat wave, is overheated, exhausted, and at the end of his rope when it comes to dealing with the Army, and especially, his tent mates. He's fully prepared to confront yet another wrong made at his expense when a young widow and her newborn son come along and teach him more about humanity than he'd ever read in any one of his precious novels.


Charles, after finishing a grueling 16 hour shift, with his patience severely tested by incompetent nurses who did not seem to prioritize wiping the sweat off his face in order to provide his patients with the barest semblance of sanitation. Thank God Margaret stepped in. He'd had his differences with her, to be sure, but when it came to putting her own feelings and opinions aside, she was among the most professional of his colleagues. (Not that was saying all that much- witness exhibits A and B- "Drs" Pierce and Hunnicut.)

After seeing Klinger choosing that very afternoon, the end of Charles' shift, to come down with a sudden case of heat rash (which turned out to be, of course, some strawberry jam smeared across his furry chest- how anyone could sleep with that image in their mind, Charles couldn't even venture a guess)...all Charles wanted was to go back to his bunk, turn on his portable fan that his beloved parents had sent him recently, and try to the best of his ability to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Thankfully, the worst of his offending tent mates, Pierce, was no where to be found. Ordinarily that would be cause for celebration- but it didn't take Charles more than a few seconds to realize that along with Pierce, his own personal cooling unit had also disappeared.

Charles glared at BJ, who was, as usual, writing a letter, presumably to his wife, Peg. Charles' face reddened, the beads of sweat dropping profusely from his already overheated forehead and he didn't even hesitate to vent his frustrations, if not his overheated body.

"You..you..you cretins!" Charles screamed, the veins already popping from just over his eyebrows.

BJ didn't bother to look up. He kept writing, smiled politely, and just responded with a "good afternoon to you, Dr. Winchester."

"Don 't you give me that attitude!" Charles snarled.

"What attitude would you like...passive, passive-aggressive, openly hostile, mild-mannered...take your pick...but I'm sorry, if you'd like a slice of my 'give a damn' attitude, I'm afraid I'm all out, and won't be able to reorder until some time next year," BJ replied calmly.

Charles grabbed BJ's pen and threw it angrily across the room.

"Hey! Do you mind? I was in the middle of writing my wife and little girl..."

"No, you listen to me. I am aware we are in the midst of a god-awful heatwave. I also realize that neither you nor your tent mate have the insight to plan ahead for such routine acts of God, be He as He may. Even with my vastly superior IQ and otherworldly knowledge, there is one thing that continues to perplex me. How dare you either of you presume to know me well enough to believe that I would be 'fine' with your taking my property!"

"Charles..."

"It is my property, after all. Just because we're forced to share this environment- just as I'd rather not share my last crumbs of pie that I occasionally choose to savor in my own solitude in this tent with your fellow rodents that seem to scurry around my bed night after night, I'd also rather not share my belongings- mine-with the likes of you or Pierce..."

"Charles...you..."

"Furthermore, one can also assume, knowing Pierce, that he is not only monopolizing my fan-MY FAN- but he's also using it to impress one of his weekly 'dates', if that's what one chooses to address such ladies of poor taste and standards. It is unacceptable to me to think that just because Pierce feels a little, how shall I put this delicately- rather like a tomcat, it does not under any circumstance give him the right to violate my own rights and reasonable expectation of maintaining ownership of my own personal property. I have tolerated the both of you for as long as any human being possibly can, but this...this...you two have gone too far, and I, for one, shall neither tolerate nor forgive this act of selfishness!"

BJ shook his head. "Charles, for your information, Hawkeye is not on a date. He's with a patient, but I'm sure a man of your wealth of knowledge would reasonably assume that..."

Charles rolled his eyes. "Please...the only "patience" he's capable of dealing with is his attempts to strain the last of my own..."

BJ stood up. "Charles..For the love of God, listen to yourself. Hawkeye found a pregnant villager woman who appears to have high blood pressure, swollen ankles, and is precariously in danger of giving birth to a premature child, one whom you're well aware this unit is not equipped to deliver. Even if we could get a chopper out here to transfer her to Seoul, you, being the educated physician that you are, surely realize the risks to not only the unborn child, but to the mother? So pardon Hawkeye for 'borrowing' your fan in order to provide some comfort and a very basic form of accommodation to this poor woman, whom also appears to be a widow. But you of course, already are aware of such events, being a man of your education and uncanny ability to know what's going on in the very same room you were in not fifteen minutes ago."

With that, BJ angrily grabbed his letter, picked the pen off the floor, and stormed off in order to find a more private location to finish writing his beloved wife.

Charles, in the meantime, was not moved by the tale Hunnicut just told. Even if it were true, Charles failed to see how that woman's condition was his responsibility. He most certainly was not the father, and would never be so selfish and thoughtless as to even take the remote chance of bringing a fatherless child into the world those people lived in.

The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. It was bad enough that these people take up his time, have made him put his career on hold, caused him to leave his beloved family and friends and all the comforts of his beloved Boston, and not to mention the fact that he resented every day of having to 'live' in this environment...well, he just did not see why he would have to indulge a rather selfish woman's irresponsibility. And as a matter of fact, he wouldn't. He stormed off, with every intention of reclaiming his property, by all rights which should never have left his bedside.

If he didn't stand up to this young woman, who was next? A beggar expecting him to shell out the pastries his family sent him...him, not the camp...McArthur expecting the Winchester family to finance the next military operation in his region...no, this was simply unacceptable. It was time to teach Pierce, the US Army, and all of Korea, if need be, that under no circumstance should a man of refinement and great value be taken for granted for one second longer. Not one.

Little did Charles know that, as often was the case when he was faced with challenging others' beliefs, it would actually be his own values and beliefs that would be shaken to the core, all thanks to a tiny, helpless infant baby and her struggling and grieving mother.

Tbc

**thank you for reading...I have not abandoned my other story, Not your ordinary family...I'm due to give birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy in just a few weeks, and wanted to write something to help me pass the time, as well as to pay tribute to the newest love of my life. This will be short, probably under ten chapters, but I have every intention of finishing it before my son arrives. Thank you for reading once again.**


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